NBA

Bulls move on after first-round knockout

DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP)

Joakim Noah figured the Chicago Bulls would be preparing for at
least one more game. Instead, they're picking up the pieces.

A first-round knockout by Philadelphia left the Bulls staring at
a long, painful offseason that they certainly weren't anticipating
when the playoffs began.

They were eyeing another long run. Instead, they're out early
after a 79-78 loss in Game 6 and Noah was having a hard time
absorbing that.

''The unfortunate part of this year is we didn't measure up
against the teams we wanted to measure up against,'' Noah said
Friday. ''I personally believe this group can compete against
anybody and beat anybody.''

They didn't really get a chance to show it in the end,
though.

They captured the No. 1 overall seed for the second straight
year despite a long list of injuries, only to watch as Derrick Rose
blew out his left knee in the playoff opener. That set a terrible
tone for Chicago, and the Bulls became the second No. 1 to lose to
the eighth seed in as many years after San Antonio fell to Memphis
a year ago.

''We'll get healthy,'' forward Carlos Boozer said. ''We'll be
back. And we'll be very good. And we'll be very hungry. And
hopefully we can stay healthy. Look, wouldn't you love to see us at
full strength if we can be healthy when the playoffs start? We
haven't had that yet. Hopefully, we'll get that next year.''

Their fortunes will hinge largely on how well Rose recuperates
from surgery to repair his torn anterior cruciate ligament. That's
the biggest issue facing a team that will likely be without its
superstar early next season, but it's not the only one.

There's Luol Deng's wrist injury and his decision to play for
Great Britain in the Olympics, not to mention coach Tom Thibodeau's
contract extension talks.

There will be plenty of time to reflect, too, and there is no
shortage of haunting images.

Rose clutching his left knee with a torn ACL near the end of an
impressive win in Game 1. The meltdown at home in the second half
of Game 2. Noah spraining his left ankle when he stepped on Andre
Iguodala's foot in Game 3.

There was a 3-1 deficit before the Bulls injected some life back
into the series, only to see it unravel late in Game 6, just when
they appeared ready to wrap up a win. That changed when C.J. Watson
made a questionable decision to pass to Omer Asik, a poor foul
shooter, on the break rather than hold onto the ball.

Asik missed two free throws with seven seconds left that would
have given Chicago a three-point lead, and the defense parted,
allowing Iguodala to go the length of the court. He got fouled by
Asik going for a layup, made both shots, and that was it.

Ballgame. Season.

Question is: What now?

The team has options on Watson, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer,
who said management told him they ''were going to do everything
they possibly can to try to bring me back.''

They might want to bring in a point guard to hold down the
position until Rose returns, although they don't have any cap
room.

Deng has made it clear he intends to play in the Olympics even
though he has a torn ligament in his left wrist. Noah hopes to play
for France in the Olympics

And the team has an option on Thibodeau, who is 112-36 in two
seasons. The Bulls tied San Antonio for the NBA's best record at
50-16 after winning a league-leading 62 games, even though they
were rarely at full strength.

They went with their projected starting five just 15 times
because of injuries. Richard Hamilton was sidelined for much of the
season. Rose missed 27 games because of groin, back, toe, foot and
ankle injuries, and the Bulls won 18 without him. They thought it
would be more of the same in the playoffs. Instead, they bowed out
early.

''I think it's important for everybody to regroup mentally and
make another run at it,'' Noah said. ''Because you know what?
Derrick is going to come back. It's adversity. But it's just
another challenge for us, like Thibs always says. We are very
privileged people doing what we love to do. Let's get better this
summer and come back hungrier than ever and make a run.''

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